Artist's Statement

Adela Jušić presents herself in semi-profil, as in a baroque painting. Her face and address are directed towards the audience, especially towards creative people. By using a traditional painterly language – the lighting, the dark background, the harmony of colors – the painting and its meaning gain in seriousness and credibility. She has copied the sentence » Avoid comparing yourself to other artists« from a website that offers creative people help with self-promotion. Jušić regards this offer and its use as significant for today’s society, where even creative people are subjected to marketing concepts. Nevertheless, questions of marketing are also important to her and so she asks herself: »What kind of prospects do today’s artists have?«; »Who is the artist today?« Or, to be even more precise: »What kind of meaning does an artist have in our society?« The artist is reflected in a double projection and speaks alternately.

She faces the spectator at a distinct remove, and thus has come a long way from earlier generations of artists. For example, Marina Abramović singled out the commercialization of art scene as a central theme for one of her video performance in 1975. She combed her hair for such a long time that the skin started to bleed, repeating over and over the same words: »Art must be beautiful, artist must be beautiful.« (Elisabeth Wynhoff)